Once Upon A Lie - Episode 13

 

QUOLA KINGDOM

“My father caused all these” the prince said, pacing up and down.

“You can’t blame your father, my prince” Chief Jalami said “every sane person, I don’t know for this Mbata King, prefers to make peace than to fight war”

“I understand you” the prince said, taking his seat “the thought that the peace wouldn’t last at all never crossed even my own mind”

The room was silent for a while, each lost in his thoughts.

“We don’t have a choice now, do we?” the prince asked, facing up.

“No, we don’t,” Chief Jalami answered “and we have to act fast”

“Wow, seems like fun” The Queen asked, as a servant took her mug for her and set it on the table.

“I’m telling you, I had so much fun that I reconsidered
 coming home”

Cleo replied with a hearty laughter and the Queen joined in.
After they both calmed down, the Queen spoke up.

“Grand Queen, I called for this talk, more importantly because of Fuole”
The Queen called one of the servants and spoke into his ear. Inna brief moment, all the servants exited the room.

“Not only he, but his sister too” the queen added.

“Which of them?” Cleo asked, reclining in her seat.

“Nnuole” the queen answered.

“Seems pretty intense”

“It is, Grand Queen” she shifted in her seat “Fuole is treading the path of irresponsibility

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. He does not want to be involved in anything. He just wants to play away his life. He is a prince and so, he has responsibilities”

“Hmm” Cleo responded.

“I did not raise him to be like that. I did not raise him to hurt people” the queen said, sounding distressed “he claims to love me, his mother, yet he hurts me and shames me”

Cleo crossed her legs and smoothened her dress.

“You see that Paulita girl, she has been frustrated” the queen continued “he is old enough to be able to think for himself the next thing in life. He avoids her always and has now made her an object of ridicule and scorn in the palace. Is he seeing another lady?”

“That,” Cleo said “is a question I cannot answer”

“You know him well, Grand Queen, you should know”

“Do not forget that you are his mother” Cleo answered “not me”

“I know,” the queen said  “but he listens to you”

“Only because I listen to him” Cleo said

“How do you believe you raised him?

“I raised him to love and to care” the queen answered “what baffles me kis that the three of them grew up together”

“How does this issue concern Nnuole anyway?” Cleo asked.

“Thank you, Grand Queen” the queen answered “she’s been acting like a spoilt brat. I expect her, as a woman, to feel for Paulita and to talk sense into her brother. Rather, she always puts up a fight with her sister, each worse than the former. I did not raise her to be so thoughtless”

“I see” Cleo said, taking in a deep breath.

“The three of them used to be so adorable. They behaved as triplets. Whatever entered into those two is what I still can’t decipher”

“Have you tried having a talk with them?” Cleo asked.

“What else can I do?” the Queen replied “I have appeased them, begged them, talked to them, advised them, done everything I can”

“Except having them talk to you” Cleo answered “You have done all the talking, now let them talk too”

She sat uprightly in her seat.

“Lita
”
The queen looked up.

“Yeah, look at me” Cleo said and the queen gazed upon her.

“Your husband, the King, when he was younger, was thought to bbe violent and wicked. He would climb trees, make catapaults, jump fences.

Read " Let It Go " by the same author ( Gracious )

. His late father was worried he was going to be a gangster” she smiled.

“But I was sure nof how I raised my baby. His father kept talking to him, and he wasn’t getting any better. He was so young then”

“One night, I went to his room and had him do all the talking while I did all the listening. It was new, it was weird, it was fun. I tried to think like his age, and trust me, he made a lot of sense”

“What was his motive?” the queen asked.

“He overheard his father and I talking about how a Quolan was murdered by an Mbata. He got riled up and so, in his little way, he wanted to train himself to be the people’s hero who can save anyone in distress”

“Wow” the queen said.

“You see, it was far from what we thought. If I hadn’t listened to him, I probably would have lost my child to real violence as he would later think we hated him”

The queen breathed in sharply.

“Talk with your children.” Cleo said “I know you do not want Paulita to feel bad she has no parents, but do not because of that, lose your children. You know what?”

“What?” the queen asked

“Those two are the most responsible and adorable children I have ever seen, and they love you so much”

The queen stood and hugged Cleo on her seat

“You all will be fine.” Cleo said. “I'm definite.”

I AM TRYING MY BEST TO SEND IN NEW EPISODES. CIRCUMSTANCES AREN'T TOO FAVOURABLE, SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. THANKS.